take my hand
by daggers.silver
Summary: jughead hates his brain sometimes.


A/N: OK SO. i was going through a bunch of my docs to answer some writing asks on tumblr and. stumbled upon this. and it was surprisingly neat and tidy and finished for an abandon fic, so i was rly confused at first, but then i remembered i had planned a whole collage of moments just like what you're about to read and make it a lot longer and just as soft all throughout but, as per usual, i ran out of steam in 0.2 seconds. BUT it would be a shame to just let this gather dust AND who knows, maybe in 2 years i'll add a chapter or two to satisfy my original purpose for this but. don't get your hopes up cause, as most of you know, i am the WorstTM. but full disclaimer, i would give an arm and a leg to write an entire fic contrasting a touch-averse jug with a touch-starved archie pls i would give my life

but enough backstory, onward my loves!

this is really short but really sweet.

takes place anywhere in the show, really, could even be pre-canon if you like

aka no spoilers, i guess

rated g for soft gooey grossness

lyrics from all about us - he is we (feat. owl City)

* * *

_take my hand  
__i'll teach you to dance  
__i'll spin you around  
__won't let you fall down_

* * *

jughead hates his brain sometimes.

and he hates people for rubbing it in. unintentionally. by being perfectly happy and normal human beings enjoying their lives and the lives of others. via physical contact and affection.

yeah, he hates them. or, more specifically, the couple sitting several booths down the line.

a blonde and a brunette. couldn't be more cliché, huh? all gooey eyes and toothy smiles nursing their hot coffee and holding hands between every sip like they're drinking in each others' company more than their _actual_ drinks, spongy skin brushing and poking, an arm around a shoulder, a nose nuzzling in close on the other's neck, kissing knuckles, kissing noses, cupping faces, just _touching_ in every discreet way possible. er, not so discreet when they lean in extra close and lock lips for a while.

it's at that point he finally averts his attention elsewhere, down at the table where his fingers fiddle with each other.

archie chooses that moment to slide in across from him, two plates of food set between; a tall burger with extra cheese and fries on the side for jughead, and a simple strawberry milkshake for archie. cherry on top and all. jughead tries his hardest not to frown at it – imagine, jughead jones, trying not to frown at food. god, love really is the fucking worst.

"something... wrong with your order?" archie inquires, almost hesitant, but more awkward than anything. that gets a smile out of him.

until he looks up to answer and sees the couple still being sickeningly sweet over archie's shoulder.

archie must catch the slight split in his attention because he turns around to follow his line of sight before jughead can look away. why was archie so painfully oblivious about literally everything except the things jughead _wants_ him to be oblivious about? he really is a pain in the ass sometimes. most of the time.

love really is the fucking worst.

"what's the problem?" archie further inquires because he's nosy like that, face all scrunched up and confused, as it usually is, gaze jerking pointedly behind him as way of explanation.

jughead sighs and accepts his fate. a handful of fries helps him swallow it down.

"dunno. they're just..." he takes a moment, chewing thoughtfully. "i dunno. normal. all... touchy-feely."

archie snorts and takes a quick sip of his own designated 'food'. "you mean they're a couple."

every piece of biological matter that constructs jughead jones' perfectly manufactured face flattens simultaneously at that, a pause before his right eyebrow ticks up a fraction. "you know what i mean." unamused is the word that comes to mind. though, he wishes it were a little more in good fun, like it usually is on every other day but today.

today, he hates people. or more specifically, his own brain. but it's easier to hate people instead.

"i dunno, i just... wish we could be like that sometimes," he all but grumbles under his breath, his ears burning a little bit at the admission, but he feels more irritated than anything else. he keeps his gaze latched on his food because he just _knows_ archie will have that kicked puppy pity look all over his face if he looks up. possibly. most likely.

though, this means he's not prepared when archie suddenly plops down next to him and drags his milkshake in closer to compensate for the change in position. only then does jughead peek up, both curious and a little suspicious. because this was archie andrews and archie andrews always has some trick up his sleeve to make someone feel better when he thinks that's something he can do.

not that jughead doesn't already feel better.

jughead jones, the epitome of unbothered.

fuck yeah.

except archie's looking at him with those eyes and those eyes always make something in jughead give just a little.

"i'm sorry," is all he says, looking down at the cherry still perched on top of the whipped cream.

a single eyeroll will never be enough to express jughead's exasperation at those two words coming out of that mouth. he snorts, shaking his head and popping another fry into his mouth before deigning those two absolutely ridiculous words with a response.

_"i'm_ the one who's sorry, dumbass. you're the one who _wants_ to be like that." he nods at the couple, now a little more tamed but still all warm and fond and... sickeningly sweet. their fingers link them together between their coffees.

"by the sound of it, so do you."

jughead just shrugs, dipping a fry in archie's milkshake for the sake of normalcy.

"yeah, well. i'm still the roadblock here, buddy. if not for me, you could be all gross and handsy with whoever you chose to be with." he tries to keep any form of bitterness out of the words. he wasn't even aware there was any bitterness until it bleeds onto his tongue, tasting a bit like burnt potato. he sighs.

"but. i _chose_ to be with _you."_

suddenly archie's hand appears in his line of sight, next to his plate, and the pointer finger taps a couple times to get his attention. somewhat childishly, he's not too proud to admit, he hesitates for a brief moment before dragging his gaze up to meet archie's, making it as clear as humanly possible how much he _doesn't_ want to be doing anything.

a small grin adorns his freckly face.

"you're lucky if you get to hold hands with me." deadpan is the word that comes to mind this time.

archie's stupid smile doesn't waver in the slightest.

_"extremely_ lucky," archie chirps, horribly pleased with himself as he turns his hand to face palm up and wiggles his fingers as way of demand.

not exactly inviting, but not exactly something he can bring himself to resist either.

against jughead's better judgment because he's far too petty to cave to something like this, he flops his hand down over archie's and doesn't pull away when he sandwiches their fingers together and squeezes. he resists another eyeroll but most of the irritation has already been clouded over with something like the fondness the couple sitting several booths down the line hold for each other.

"and fully satisfied," archie adds, still smiling like the idiot he is. "if i wanted to be with anyone else, i wouldn't be with you."

for the first time since the couple sat down, jughead relaxes a little into his seat.

"besides, nobody else gives kisses quite like forsythe pendleton jones the third."

* * *

_would you let me lead?  
__you can step on my feet  
__give it a try  
__it'll be alright_

* * *

A/N: p.s. i didn't mention any actual genders in the fic but that other couple was 100% two lesbians living their best lives

p.p.s. if you have any questions about the portrayal of touch aversion, feel free to ask away since this fic is 90% just me projecting my own experiences on poor jug hsjsj


End file.
